Haunted House on Shadow Creek Drive
by Paulathe Cat
Summary: E/O Picture is worth a thousand words  or there abouts . Dean and Sam go on a hunt while dad is gone. Teen!chesters, no slash, no language, no spoilers


**E/O Picture is worth a thousand words Challenge**

1548 Words

May 8, 2011

**Summary:** Drabble- Teen!chesters try a hunt on their own while their father is out of town.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any part of the wonderful Winchester Brothers who actually belong to CW and Kripke Enterprises. No Slash, no language, no innuendo.

**A/N: **This is product is rated E for Everyone. I tried to get it in under 1000 words. I really did. But… but…. I pared it down from like 3000 and this is as close as I would comfortably go. pout I hope you like it, anyway. Happy Mother's Day to all those who are, you know,blink, blink mothers…

**Haunted House on Shadow Creek Drive**

The boys were facing a dilapidated and condemned house in the middle of nowhere. The taller of the two shifted an army surplus duffle higher on his shoulder and the younger shifted uneasily. The "Condemned: Danger" signs shouted at them with yellow shields and black block letters.

"Maybe we should wait for Dad." Sam protested.

"I've been leaving messages." Dean said quietly. He walked up to the gate in front of them. He smiled over his shoulder at his brother. "Besides, nothing says 'Something Interesting Here' like a lock." He smirked. _And this place has two! _ Dean bent over the locks and began to finesse the tumblers until he heard a satisfying _click_. He began working the other one as his brother approached.

"They could have been making it up."

Dean scowled at Sam. "The research we did sort of confirms what they said."

"'Sort of confirms', Dean. What kind of haunting can it be without a violent death?" Sam complained. Dean focused on the second lock and it opened up as he turned the pick. "Oorah!"

Dean opened the gate to allow his brother through before following him into the overgrown lot. They approached the plywood-covered opening that was the front entrance to the crumbling edifice. They looked around, but as before, saw no living soul anywhere in the vicinity. Dean pushed against the plywood and found that it was not very solidly attached to the building. He took a step back and rammed the wood with his shoulder gaining a sliver of space. Their flashlights cast the only illumination in the room as they entered into a foyer, the landing of the staircase in front of them. They moved a little further into the remnants of a sunken living area when the flashlights gave a flicker. They were submersed in utter black. Sam felt the brush of something on his arm. The lights came back just before Sam felt his adrenaline spike. He breathed a sigh of relief. His brother was right next to him.

"Dean…" Sam complained.

"Sam, don't keep whining at me, man. Seriously, it's just a salt and burn. We can handle this one." Dean began rummaging in his bag until he pulled out an EMF meter. He flipped the switch to hear it hum. "Bingo."

Sam sighed again.

The three story building creaked and settled as if protesting the young hunters' intrusion into its territory. Sam looked around the shattered remains of what used to be someone's home. Home. That was a word that Sam often hoped to have and yet it was moments like these that made him wonder what the hell it would look like. Sadness began to settle on his heart. He had no real frame of reference. He had seen glimpses behind the curtain when he stayed with friends, but he didn't know what it really felt like, what it truly would be. He glanced at the banister of the stairs and imagined if kids who used to live here slid down it like they did in the movies. Sam decided he would likely be a violent death away from haunting this place himself if he didn't focus. _Morbid much, Sam_? He went over to the duffel to pull out a can of Kosher salt.

Dean moved methodically around the room following the spikes in the EMF. Sam was surly and unenthusiastic, but Dean couldn't leave him at the hotel. He was in charge when Dad was out of town. Dean heard about how kids used to dare each other to brave the horrors of the haunted house on Shadow Creek Drive. He listened to the story with practiced patience and interested questioning. When the stories of kids disappearing into the house and never being heard from again were confirmed by missing persons and news reports, Dean immediately picked up the phone to call their dad.

But their dad never returned the calls. Dean knew there would be more disappearances. He knew, with the instincts of a Hunter, that there would be deaths. He worried for the kids who would have come up here if he had waited to hear back from his absent father. This was his entire life. He had to be father, protector, and confidante for his family. He heard his dad tell him things that fifteen year olds just didn't need to know. He would see his dad slumped in a chair after a hunt and try to make it better. He had to be peacemaker between his dad and Sam. It seemed that it was going to kill him one day. He sighed with fatigue and the weight of the world. He knew he was going to die young, but at least he'd leave a good looking corpse.

Dean swept the rest of the room and found only moderate spiking in EMF. He turned to nod at his brother indicating that they would check the next room. Sam gripped an iron poker he had brought with them in his hand and made sure the salt canister was open as he followed his older brother into the next room. Dean hefted the sawed-off double barrel shotgun with his free hand. They entered what used to be the kitchen. There was broken mug on a counter that indicated its previous owner was "The World's Greatest Dad". Dad… He had tried to reach his dad. He left several messages. A twitch in his stomach told him that coming out here with Sammy was against his dad's standing orders. Protect your brother, Dean. Protect Sammy. But, Sam was there with him. He could protect him and do the job, couldn't he? He wasn't defying the orders, just working around the parameters of the assigned mission. Fear that something would happen to his brother started amping up the adrenaline surging through him. What if something happened to his brother? What would he tell his dad? He felt his pulse quicken. He looked at his hand as it shook. EMF readings hadn't elevated but he was feeling something close to panic. _It's not a ghost_, he thought.

"Sam, run. Get out, quick!" Sam didn't argue. He followed Dean's urgent command. As they approached the opening the saw their way was barred.

The wiry frame of a tall thin man stood leaning against the plywood. "Hello, Boys." He said in a reedy voice. "So glad you could stop by… for supper." He held up his hand and a long slender spike emerged from his wrist. Dean's eyes widened and he held Sam behind him. He shot a shotgun round at the wraith and pushed Sam in front of him as he ran for a back exit. The wraith was faster than Dean could have expected. He felt a bony hand close on his wrist to spin him around. Dean grabbed the mug from the counter and smashed it in the wraith's face but it didn't release its grip on Dean.

Sam came up behind the wraith and slammed the iron poker across the frail-looking back. The wraith turned its head to hiss at Sam, but smiled at him as the younger boy pulled back to try again. "Let go of my brother!" He screamed.

"Don't worry, little one. You'll be next."

Just then, a loud bang and a gunshot sounded from the other room. The wraith looked down at its chest, eyes wide with surprise. A black stain began to spread from the center its body. It looked up again to meet the eyes of a tall man seething with hate and anger. "Let go of my boy." He said in a deathly quiet voice. He shot the gun at the wraith again and this time the creature fell on the peeling linoleum floor.

"Dad!" Sam exclaimed and ran to wrap his arms around his father. John Winchester had to take several deep breaths before he was able to do or say anything besides hold his youngest to him. He looked up to meet the green and teary eyes of his oldest. He could see the regret and pain in Dean's whole countenance.

"Pack up your stuff and get out to the car." He said with emotion-drenched voice.

"Yes, sir." replied both sons.

Dean paused next to his dad and lifted his gaze slowly in shame. John put his large hand on Dean's shoulder and gave him a gentle shove to get him moving. He could see his dad was hot with anger and disappointment… and no little bit of fear; but, now he just wanted them to get to the safety of four not-crumbling-down and condemned walls. They would talk about Dean's insubordination later. Dean began to walk with Sam as his dad went to the wraith, pulled a silver knife from its sheath, and made sure it would never rise again before proceeding to the Impala waiting on the street.

John looked at his boys in the sleek black car. Dean took a breath to calm down. His dad wouldn't save their lives just to kill them out of pique. No, he would have the whole silent trip back to devise a suitable punishment for them. Dean wondered if it would be anything like the punishment the brothers would be imagining in the next fifteen minutes.

Probably not.

END

A/N: Hey… Reviews are like flowers on mama's day… review after reading. Spanks!


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